Home & Garden news briefs

The Garden Club of the Middle Peninsula is hosting a program on English boxwoods during its October meeting, according to a release from the club.

Stephen Southall, a professor at Lynchburg College and owner of English Boxwoods of Virginia, will speak about the care and maintenance of boxwoods on Thursday, Oct. 10, said Sue Walter, a club spokeswoman. There is a $10 fee for the program which will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

Southall, a former president of the American Boxwood Society, has led seminars and workshops at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University, Hampton Sydney College in Farmville, Berry College in Rome, Georgia, and at gardens clubs throughout Virginia.

For more information or directions to the meeting, call Linda Parker at 804-758-8091.

Extended hours for Yorktown Market Days

Yorktown Market Days will extend its hours on Saturday, Oct. 12, to celebrate autumn with a Fall Festival, according to a release from York County.

Typically held from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Market Days will extend its hours to 3 p.m. and will include children's activities, hayrides, a pumpkin patch and hay maze, and live musical entertainment all day. Other special features include demonstrations by chefs from Riverwalk Restaurant at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., and face painting from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Members of the Runaway String Band are scheduled to perform until 3 p.m.

Free parking is available and a free trolley runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More than 40 vendors and local artists will participate in the October market which features seasonal fruits and vegetables, fresh seafood, eggs, poultry, beef and pork. There are also breads and baked goods, organic and gluten free products, jams and jellies, pumpkins, mums, gourds and more available for sale.

For more information, including a listing of vendors and artists for the fall festival, call 890-3500 or go to http://www.yorktownmarketdays.com or http://www.visityorktown.org.

Free landscaping classes in York County

The Cooperative Extension's annual Fall Landscape Extravaganza featuring a day of classes and workshops is Saturday, Oct. 5 in Grafton.

Sponsored by the Virginia Cooperative Extension-York/Poquoson Office, the free event includes two blocks of concurrent classes, according to a news release from York County.

•"Landscaping for Good Bugs" led by Dan Nortman, Extension agent, York/Poquoson

•"Create a Living Flower Arrangement with Layers of Bulbs" led by Brent Heath, Brent and Becky's Bulbs. This class includes a $30 materials fee.

•"Landscaping Basics" led by Helen Janele, Eco-Scapes Design.

The landscaping event begins at 8:30 a.m. at Yorkminster Presbyterian Church, 6218 George Washington Memorial Highway in the Grafton area of York County. Seating is limited, so registration is recommended, said Gail L. Whittaker, a county spokeswoman.

Registration materials can be found at http://www.yorkcounty.gov/vce.

For more information, call the York-Poquoson Extension office at 890-4940.

Native plant sale at NN fall festival

A native plant sale is scheduled for the Newport News Fall Festival of Folklife. The plant sale, sponsored by Newport News master Gardeners, will feature native plants, as well as bulbs, shrubs and other garden plants.

The sale and festival runs Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 5-6 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Newport News Park in Newport News. For more information, go to http://www.nnmastergardeners.org.

The sites on the Peninsula, Middle Peninsula, South Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Peninsula locations are in Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg. Six sites on the Middle Peninsula include five private homes and the Middle Peninsula Landfill and Recycling Facility. There are two sites available for tours on the Eastern Shore and nine in South Hampton Roads.

Participants will be able to see first hand the use of solar electricity to power homes, solar water and pool heaters as well as learn the benefits of green roofs, rain barrels and composting, Theresa Wright, a tour spokeswoman, said in a press release.

A central site in Norfolk will also have demonstrations and kids' activities. The tour is sponsored by the Hampton Roads Solar Group.

For more information or to register for the free event, go to http://www.hrsolartour.com.

Horticulture class coming January

The 2014 Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Short Course is scheduled for Jan. 13-17, at the Marriott City Center in Newport News.

Invited speakers include landscape and garden designers, a turfgrass specialist, tree experts and botanists. The course is sponsored by the Virginia Horticultural Foundation.

Training will also be available in Spanish, and continuing education credits and certifications can be earned for the short course. Scholarships and educator travel grants are available. The application deadlines are Oct. 31.

More than 900 people attended the 2013 short course, including professionals and home gardeners, according to the foundation's web site.

For more information, call 757-523-4734 or go to http://www.mahsc.org.